João Pedro Pais to perform at the 2019 IPMA show

Thursday

Nov 8, 2018 at 3:01 AM

By Lurdes C. da SilvaThe O Jornal

FALL RIVER — João Pedro Pais, a Portuguese singer and songwriter who has shared the stage with stars like Britney Spears and The Black Eyed Peas, will be performing at the 7th annual International Portuguese Music Awards (IPMA) Show on May 18 at the Zeiterion Performing Arts Center in New Bedford.

The announcement was made Nov. 3 at the IPMA launch party held at the Cove Restaurant in Fall River. With more than 275 people in attendance, the crowd went wild as the names of the 2019 IPMA performers were announced in a video montage.

Hailing from several continents, the other performers are Rita Guerra, Roberto Leal, Sam the Kid, Cordeone, Rebecca Correia, and M’Vula.

“We are very happy with how things turned out,” said David Saraiva, who co-organizes the IPMA awards with Zack Xavier. “Those in attendance had a very positive reaction to our announcements. With artists such as Sam the Kid, Roberto Leal, Rita Guerra, and João Pedro Pais, all the ingredients are in place for yet another historic event for our Luso communities.”

With a career spanning 20 years, João Pedro Pais has worked with many renowned musicians, including Keith Scott (guitarist for Bryan Adams) and Ian Thomas (drummer for Seal, Sting, Eric Clapton and others). Some of his best-known songs include “Ninguém (é de ninguém),” “Louco (por ti)” and “Mentira.”

Portuguese singer Rita Guerra started her recording career in the early 90’s and went on to make a name for herself on the stage of the famous Casino Estoril. She has been featured in Portuguese soundtracks of animated films such as “The Lion King” and “The Little Mermaid.” In 2003, she represented Portugal at the Eurovision Song Contest.

Roberto Leal, a Portuguese Brazilian singer, was the recipient of the first-ever IPMA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. He is one of the most popular singers among the Portuguese communities worldwide. Roberto Leal has sold more than 17 million albums and has received 30 gold and 5 platinum records.

Rapper and producer Sam the Kid is considered to be one of the most important names of Portuguese hip-hop. He has been praised by critics since his first album in 1998 and has participated in projects such as “Orelha Negra” and “Mundo Segundo & Sam the Kid.”

Cordeone, a French-born Portuguese musician, started playing the accordion at age 9 and went on to teach himself to play piano, classic guitar, Portuguese guitar, Brazilian percussion, drums, and the bass. His unique style borrows from jazz, fado, Brazilian music, funk, reggae and hip-hop.

From Angola, M’Vula is an African Rock band celebrating their 10th year as recording artists. In 2016, they were nominated in the IPMA rock category.

Representing the United States will be Massachusetts-based singer and songwriter Rebecca Correia. With more than 200 songs to her credit, she co-wrote a song with four-time Grammy-winner Keb' Mo,' whose album was nominated for Best Americana Album at the 2015 GRAMMY Awards. She was the recipient of the 2018 IPMA Award for Best Pop Performance with her song “Solid Ground.”

The IPMA recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry by international artists of Portuguese ancestry.

Awards will be given in a variety of genres, including rock, pop, dance, rap, hip-hop, Fado, and Música Popular. Awards will also be given out for Song of the Year, New Talent, Video of the Year and People´s Choice. IPMA is currently accepting submissions for the 2019 Awards Show through Nov. 30. To be considered for an award, songs and videos should be submitted to http://ipmaawards.com/submissions. Nominees will be announced in early 2019.

“We are quite surprised at the number of new artists that appear on our radar every year via our submission,” Saraiva said.

Tickets for the Awards Show go on sale Tuesday, Nov. 6. They can be purchased via the Zeiterion Theatre box office at https://zeiterion.org/2019-IPMA, by calling 508-994-2900, or in person at 684 Purchase St., New Bedford, from Monday to Saturday.

“We encourage people to lock in those good seats,” said Saraiva, taking the opportunity to thank the sponsors and the community for their continued support.

“The support our sponsors are showing this year is unprecedented and we can’t thank them enough,” Saraiva concluded.

For more information about the IPMA awards, please visit their website at ipmaawards.com.

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